Merchants Bonding Company Review 2025
Written by
Ann Herro has been writing about insurance and employee benefits for over 15 years. She covers topics ranging from car insurance to healthcare costs.
Reviewed by
Cara Carlone is a licensed P&C agent with 20 years of experience. She has her P&C license in RI and TX and holds CPCU, API, and AINS designations.
Merchants Bonding Company Final Score
3 Stars
For more than 80 years, Merchants Bonding Company has been providing contract and commercial surety bonds. Unlike its competitors with multiple lines of business, Merchants’ focus is almost exclusively on surety. Merchants’ unique underwriting philosophy evaluates all accounts on their own merit, and places a high value on business and personal net worth.
A national leader in surety, Merchants Bonding Company is among the top surety writers in the United States and has had an “A” (Excellent) rating or better from AM Best since 1958. Merchants has a wide appetite for commercial bonds, from single bond opportunities to multimillion-dollar accounts.
We award Merchants Bonding Company a final rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars. The company enjoys an "A" rating from AM Best, a credit rating agency that assesses the creditworthiness of and/or reports on over 16,000 insurance companies worldwide. The AM Best rating points to the company’s ability to pay claims, debts, and other financial obligations in a timely manner.
Merchants Bonding offers a comprehensive selection of bonds to fit just about any type of project. The company also brings decades of dedicated expertise to the table. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to dive deeper into how the company is performing with its product and service offerings, as customer satisfaction reviews are not available online. What we do know is that the company is financially stable, possesses superior expertise, and takes pride in its online platform for brokers and agents. It is among the top surety writers in the U.S.
You can assess if Merchants Bonding Company is the right bonding company for you by visiting its website or talking with an independent insurance agent. Your agent can help you evaluate multiple bonding companies to ensure you're making the right choice.
Merchants Bonding Company Pros and Cons
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Merchants Bonding Company Products
Merchants Bonding Company offers several types of bonds to businesses across the U.S. A surety bond is a three-party written agreement by which one party (the surety) guarantees another party (the obligee) that a third party (the principal) will perform according to the bond, statute, contract, or other obligation. The surety bond protects the obligee by guaranteeing performance to the obligee if the principal does not fulfill their obligation.
Merchants Bonding Company specializes in the following types of bonds:
- Contract surety bonds (bid bonds, performance bonds, payment bonds, maintenance bonds, subdivision bonds, and other miscellaneous contract surety bonds)
- Commercial surety bonds (license and permit bonds, notary bonds, fiduciary/probate bonds, court bonds, public official bonds, non-construction performance bonds, fidelity/theft guard bonds, ERISA bonds, insurance program bonds, and other miscellaneous commercial surety bonds)
- Fidelity bonds
Merchants Bonding sells bonds exclusively through independent insurance agents. You can visit the company website to learn more about bonds and find a local agent licensed to sell the company’s bonds.
You can also find a carrier by using our insurance company directory.
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What Discounts Does Merchants Bonding Company Offer?
Merchants Bonding Company does not offer information about discounts or savings opportunities.
Merchants Bonding Company Customer Service
Here’s what you need to know about Merchants Bonding Company's customer service offerings:
- Contact the corporate office or a branch office by phone
- Questions and concerns can also be sent via email
- Online bill pay
- The company does not publish any customer service hours restrictions
| Days | Hours (EST) | ||
| Monday - Friday | Not specified |
Merchants Bonding Company FAQs
Merchants Bonding Company does not publish an average claim response time frame. It does state the following about its claims response on its website:
"Upon submission of your claim, you will receive an auto-reply email confirming the claim has been received by our Claims Department. We will promptly assign the claim to a claims professional to begin our independent investigation of the claim."
Merchants Bonding Company offers customer service by phone and email. Customers can also contact the independent insurance agent who sold them their bond for any customer service needs.
Merchants Bonding Company provides online claim forms to report a payment bond claim, a performance bond claim, or a commercial bond claim.
You may also mail, fax, or email your claim to the company. Merchants Bonding Company states the following about its claims process:
"Each claim is unique, and the length of the process may vary depending upon a variety of factors. Upon receipt of your claim, we will promptly assign a claims professional to begin our independent investigation of the claim. The claims professional will send correspondence to you acknowledging the claim and will request specific information and documentation. The claims professional will also advise our bond principal of the claim and request information from the principal regarding the claim. As our investigation progresses, the claims professional may request additional information. Upon the conclusion of our investigation, the claims professional will advise the claimant and the bond principal of our determination."
You can check on the status of any claim by calling Merchants Bonding Company and asking to speak with the adjuster who is handling your claim.
Yes, Merchants Bonding Company creates a user-friendly experience for customers. The company’s website is simple and easy to navigate. Customers can easily find the link to file a claim online. The company also has a robust social media presence.
The company also offers an industry-leading agent website, The Merchants Bonding Company Hub™, that consistently receives five-star reviews. It was developed in-house based on requests and feedback from the company’s agents. Features like bond form search by keyword, bond form preview, secure document upload, principal data autofill, and online credit card payment make issuing commercial bonds easy and efficient.
Merchants Bonding Company also offers convenient direct billing. Direct billing can be used on a bond-by-bond basis, with the option to apply it to the first year or the renewal. Principals can pay online with a credit card.
Merchants Bonding Company promises first-class service, common sense underwriting, an industry-leading agent website, and direct billing.
The company has decades of expertise in selling bonds, because it’s all that they do. If you are looking for commercial surety bonds, Merchants Bonding Company should be on your list of companies to check out.
Merchants Bonding Company has decades of expertise in selling bonds. Unlike other insurance companies with multiple lines of business, Merchants has honed its expertise in contract and commercial surety bonding. The company sells bonds through independent insurance agents, and it offers a dedicated underwriting team for each account.
The company is rated A (Excellent) by AM Best. If you are looking for commercial bonds, Merchants Bonding Company is a reliable, reputable choice.
https://www.merchantsbonding.com